"Stop it,” Paul interrupted. “Just stop. They're not going to retire you. Not if I have anything to say about it.” He stared out the window, still running with stray rivulets of rain; it was one of the patented Jericho City slushers, the beginning of two days of steady, drenching, persistent rain. “You could give me a little credit, goddammit. I know I'm not the best Malik in the world, but you trained me and I'm not going to watch you fade."

He doesn't even sound like he's convinced himself. “Fade? What the hell are we talking about?” Chess's heart gave a strangled thump. “Ryan?"

"He's become attached to you,” Paul snapped. “If they separate him from you, he'll start to fade. You need to learn how to deal with him, Ms. Barnes, or he's going to—"

"Leave her alone.” Ryan's voice, still very soft, sliced through his; the air seemed to chill a whole five degrees. He slid the gun into a holster. “She doesn't understand. The important thing right now is getting her through the next week or so."

A very nasty thought began to worm its way up through Chess's head. “Protective instincts,” she said flatly, raising one eyebrow and fixing Paul with a glare he could probably feel even with his back to her. Shoving me up against the wall and kissing me is not protective behavior. I am sensing a very big problem rearing its ugly head right about now.

"Possessive instincts,” Paul supplied, turning away from the window. “Mating instincts. The Drakulein—"

"Whoa. Hold on. Wait a minute.” Her cheeks certainly couldn't get any hotter. I'm blushing like a teenager. Dammit. “So you're saying… oh. Oh, wow.” That put an entirely new shine on things. “Wow. That's… wow.” Oh, I'm an idiot. Can't I ever say anything right? “Does… I mean, do you have any control over… this sort of thing, Ryan?"

"Enough control.” Ryan's tone was still soft, but it was less scary than it had been. “I'm not all animal, Chess. Your sister's listening behind the door, by the way."

The bedroom door opened and Charlie appeared, wearing Chess's coveted Buddy Holly silkscreened T-shirt. She'd also resurrected a pair of her old jeans, kept at Chess's in case of emergency or sleepover, and had stuffed her feet into a pair of Chess's old Nikes. Thank God we're the same size in shoes, Chess thought. Then her brain ran up against the last few minutes again and stuck like an engine without oil.

"Thai,” Charlie said grimly, with a fierce look that suggested she'd heard all of the last few minutes and had a few problems of her own. “You coming, Chess?"

She nodded, mute. Her cheeks were on fire, and the blush spread its way down her neck. Wow. I'm going to have to think about this one.

Ryan gained his feet in a single movement. “We'll go with you."

"No way,” Charlie said firmly. “She's coming with me, and spending the night at my place. Pack your bag, Chess. We're leaving."

Ryan's eyes narrowed, his shoulders squaring. “You don't understand. The Inkani are out there, and they know she's a potential. Not only that, but they know she's being guarded by a Drakul. They will find her, and when they do you'd better hope I'm there to protect her, goddammit."

Charlie folded her arms, her chin coming up. Her hair was on fire under the lights, and Chess suddenly felt very glad her sister was here. “Listen, mister. I don't know who you think you are, but my sister doesn't need weirdos like you running her life. You haven't done anything but get her in over her head with this demon crap, and it stops here. By the time she comes back you'd better be out of her apartment and observing a respectable distance, or I'll get a restraining order against both you and your collection of playmates. Is that clear enough for you?"

I think that's the first time I've ever seen Ryan speechless. Chess took a deep breath. “Let's just calm down, all right? Charlie, I can't just throw them out, they don't have anywhere to go. I'll head out for a spot of Thai with you, and they can stay here and rest up. When I come back we'll hash everything out. Okay?"

Nobody looked mollified in the slightest. Paul, who had turned away from the window, exchanged a long meaningful look with Ryan, who simply started stuffing items into his bag as if they had personally offended them. The silence stretched, became brittle, and Chess sighed, stalking across the apartment to the table to open her demon-hunting bag, since it had her ID in it. She slipped her knife and her ID into her purse, wincing as she contemplated how cluttered her table was. “Good,” she said. “I'm glad we have this all—"

Ryan's hand closed around her wrist. “Don't go alone. Not after dark, Chess. Please.” He said the last word as if it choked him.

"Get your goddamn hand off her!” Charlie's voice hit a pitch close to Mom's during the great Soccer Leg Break of Chess's seventh-grade year. Ryan simply glanced at her, as if she was a persistent but not terribly noteworthy insect.

Chess studied his face. He dropped his chin, looking down at her, his eyebrows drawn together and his mouth a tight line. She could feel the tension return, thrumming through him like the sonic massage of the trolls in their stone underground. “You want me to trust you, right?” she reminded him softly. “I need to get away from this. I need to be normal for a little while."

His jaw turned to stone.

I wonder if he's going to grit his teeth down to nubs. Or shatter them. Christ, my imagination just works too damn well. Chess tried again. “I'll come back tomorrow night. We'll talk."

"They will find you, Chess. It's only a matter of time.” His thumb brushed the underside of her wrist, a slow, even movement that made her breath catch. “I'm not going to let you do this. I can't."

She felt her eyebrows raise, couldn't stop herself. “Let me? I don't think so. You've been shoving me around ever since you showed up, and I've had enough of it.” One step back, her wrist twisting and breaking free of his grip. “You want me to trust you? Back off. I know what I'm doing. I took out a skornac without your help, mister. And I've managed to stay alive so far. I'm going with my sister, and you're going to stay here and wait for me. I'll be back tomorrow night, and if you want anything to do with me at all, you'll sit your silly ass right here and wait for me. You got it?” She hitched her purse up on her shoulder. Screw packing. I'm leaving. I can use Charlie's toothbrush.

"Don't do this.” Did he actually sound pleading? “Don't make me force you."

She turned on her heel, wondering if he'd explode into action. She'd seen just how fast he was, if he was going to try to stop her from leaving it would probably get nasty very quickly, and no amount of Al's kickboxing would stop him. “Charlie? We're leaving."

Charlie's eyes flicked over Chess's shoulder. She steeled herself, but nothing happened. Charlie edged for the door.

"When the Inkani come for you, they won't care who's with you,” Paul said quietly. The words hung in the room. “You're putting your family at risk."

Why do you think I kept all this a secret? It doesn't take a genius to figure out that any demon with enough brains might try to take my family hostage. “If you guys don't shout it to the heavens that I'm your new best friend, I don't think it will be a problem,” Chess lied, and pushed Charlie into the entry hall. “Let's go. I want a nice cold beer when we get to the restaurant."

"Good thing I'm driving.” Her sister sounded strained. “I think I'll order curry tonight. You?"

"You know my heart belongs to phad Thai. Goodnight, Ryan. See you tomorrow."

He didn't respond. She heaved a sigh of relief as her door closed behind her, and she locked it, including the two deadbolts.

"Are you sure it's safe to leave them in there?” Charlie whispered.

"If they wanted my TV they would have taken it before I got home tonight.” Chess replied grimly. “Let's get out of here before anything else happens."